


The Interview That Never Happened

by MCAmps



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Magazine Article
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18935500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCAmps/pseuds/MCAmps
Summary: The plan was to interview Jumin Han about C&R’s upcoming pet café. Getting time to talk with someone like Jumin was supposed to be the hard part. He was the future CEO of a highly acclaimed and successful company after all, not to mention a celebrity, appearing in magazines, commercials and even having a scandal or two involving women trying to get a bite of his fortune. As a reporter, I thought the hard part was over, and that the rest of my time would be a breeze.However, I was quite wrong.





	The Interview That Never Happened

The plan was to interview Jumin Han about C&R’s upcoming pet café. Getting time to talk with someone like Jumin was supposed to be the hard part. He was the future CEO of a _highly_ acclaimed and successful company after all, not to mention a celebrity, appearing in magazines, commercials and even having a scandal or two involving women trying to get a bite of his fortune. As a reporter, I thought the hard part was over, and that the rest of my time would be a breeze.

However, I was quite wrong.

This interview would prove to be my most difficult. Mainly because the interview itself never happened. Instead of trying reschedule, I decided to write about my experience. It was certainly something I would never forget.

The morning started normal enough. The sky was clear and blue without even a hint of foreboding clouds, and the bright sun gave off a warm and inviting atmosphere as it illuminated the C&R building. I made sure to arrive fifteen minutes early with my questions and voice recorder ready to go. Everything was perfect.

The front desk’s stylish receptionist greeted me with a charismatic smile and told me which elevator to take and what floor to go to. It wasn’t until I reached my destination that everything changed. While the lobby had been busy and bustling like a well-oiled machine, everyone worked frantically as if something had malfunctioned. Phones rang and fingers clicked against their keyboards endlessly. It would have been just like any other office, but there was an electric unease and tension in the air.

After avoiding a close call involving someone holding a stack of papers and a mug of steaming, sloshing coffee, I encountered Jumin’s assistant, Jaehee Kang, however, she didn’t notice me **.** Instead a mess of paper on her desk along with a phone call dominated her attention. She spoke in a hushed tone. Whatever the call was about, it sounded intense. All I could do was wait for her to finish. She soon hung up with a slow sigh and adjusted her glasses.Unfortunately, she still didn’t look up from her papers, so I tapped at her desk, causing her to practically tumble from her seat. I felt bad, but she managed to compose herself with almost inhuman grace. Though that faded once I explained the interview situation to her. The color drained from her face and she swayed a bit, before once again readjusting herself with a sigh. She then went on to explain how she forgot about the interview and that today would not be a good day anyways, before offering to reschedule.

This was a unique situation. I had certainly dealt with rescheduled and even cancelled interviews before, but it never happened on the _day of_ , let alone mere minutes before it was set to take place. I was on a tight deadline. We _needed_ this interview.

And I insisted it had to happen.

Eventually, Jaehee gave in. She took a defeated swig from her steaming mug, before rolling her shoulders and leading me through the labyrinth of cubicles. After several moments of seemingly fruitless searching, we found him, or rather, _heard_ him. Jumin Han’s iconic deep timbre sounded a lot more booming in person.

Something I found rather interesting was Jaehee’s reaction. Instead of cowering in shocked fear, she simply apologized and told me she would take care of this. Was this something she experienced on a regular basis?

By that point, it wasn’t difficult to spot Jumin’s tall frame towering over a young man’s desk. Interviews had portrayed Jumin Han as someone charismatic and polite, albeit somewhat dry and monotone, however, the man standing before us was much more frightening and cold. He spoke in a harsh, yet subdued tone. It lacked emotion, but his anger was quite evident. He didn’t lose his temper either, which made things all the more chilling. The office fell silent. Not even the telephones or fax machines sounded. It was as if they knew not to interrupt this man.

I couldn’t quite make out all of Jumin’s harsh words, but once the employee burst into tears and gathered his belongings, the outcome of this conversation became clear. Jumin’s icy mask stayed in place even as the employee wept in pure anguish. I found myself disgusted and came to the conclusion that Jumin Han was an absolute tyrant. I felt outraged, but admittedly not brave enough to call him out on his cruel behavior.

Soon, the now ex-employee finished packing up. His crying had died down to sniffles as he left the office, head down. Even after he was gone, time stood still with no one typing on their computers or making a peep.

It wasn’t until Jaehee cleared her throat and called out for “Mr. Han,” that the spell broke. Without a word, Jumin narrowed his eyes, staring expectantly.

I wanted to tell Jaehee to forget the interview. Deadlines or not, I didn’t want to be responsible for getting someone else fired. However, before I could stop her, she adjusted her glasses and explained the cat café interview in a calm and concise manner. My heart stopped when Jumin interrupted her with the shake of his head. Wearing an annoyed frown, he announced that in five minutes, there would be a meeting in the conference room. A _mandatory_ meeting. He then turned to me, cold as steel eyes piercing my soul. This was very uncomfortable to say the least. I had to wonder if he was about to throw me out, but instead he said I could sit in the meeting, then afterwards he would see about the interview.

By this point, I just wanted to cut my losses and leave, but something told me that disobeying Jumin would make matters even worse. I trudged after the herd of nervous workers into the large room. Not one of them said a word as they took their seats around the large table. I could almost taste the nauseating cocktail of anxiety and tension.

Jaehee kindly pulled out a chair for me next to the door, before scurrying to her seat. Jumin meanwhile took his spot up front. He silently tugged at his cuff links as he gazed at his peons. A simple gesture made terrifying by the likes of him.

Was he going to fire everyone here? I had the feeling he could get away with it if he truly desired to.

Just as he cleared his throat and furrowed his eyebrows, there was a knock on the door accompanied by a soft apology. A woman stepped into the room, but she wasn’t clad in the office attire. Instead she wore a pink sweater dress along with tights and boots. Whoever she was, I felt awful about the wrath she was about to receive.

However, instead of reacting with calculated malice, Jumin’s eyes widened and he suddenly didn’t look so frightening. He then uttered the words I never thought I would hear: “Sweetheart?”

This was Jumin’s wife?

The mood in the room instantly shifted as Mrs. Han approached her husband. The tension dissolved and everyone could breathe again.

 “. . .how is she?” Jumin asked. The amount of worry that leaked from his voice was surprising, considering how cold and calloused he previously acted.

Everyone watched as Mrs. Han placed a gold trimmed pet carrier on the table. With a calm, angelic smile, she opened the door and pulled out a white, fluffy cat. It turned out she came straight from the vet. The diagnosis? A small infection that could easily be fixed with antibiotics. Otherwise the cat, Elizabeth 3rd, was healthy.

Jumin and Jaehee let out simultaneous sighs of relief, though something told me for different reasons.

Elizabeth 3rd happily meowed at Jumin, causing some of the employees to chuckle. She was quite talkative and stared at her master with large, adoring blue eyes. At first I thought the poor feline was a horrible judge of character, but then I caught a glimpse of Jumin and saw something utterly shocking.

A smile.

Not just a small upturn of the lips, but an opened mouth one, showing off his perfectly straight and white teeth. The grin wasn’t huge, but it was still something I had never seen in any of the footage of the future CEO.

Mrs. Han spoke to Elizabeth in a baby voice, asking her if she wanted to see her “daddy.” She then handed the cat off to Jumin, who scooped her into this arms and held her close as if she was a human toddler. He practically buried his face in her snow white fur, not even bothered by the small strands that were sure to cling to his dark suit.

“I was. . .quite worried,” he expressed in a soft voice.

Mrs. Han rubbed her husband’s arm and gave him reassuring words before saying something quite interesting. “I hope you didn’t get too stressed out wondering about the results. I had a feeling it would be a good idea to come here straight from the vet.” She punctuated her words with a knowing look in Jaehee’s direction, causing the assistant to nervously smile. Something told me these women had a connection. Maybe Jaehee had tipped off Mrs. Han about today’s rampage?

Jumin lovingly smiled at his wife. Once again, it was another expression I hadn’t seen from him before, though his expression soon returned to something more serious as he announced that everyone could take the rest of the day off. He then turned to Jaehee and instructed her to contact the employee he had fired and offer him his job back along with a generous raise. With a frazzled nod, Jaehee scurried out of the room, completely forgetting about me once again.

I didn’t mind, in fact, it was a treat to be able to watch Mr. and Mrs. Han before slipping out. He was quite tender with her, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head as they spoke. She even made him laugh as she pretended to talk in a squeaky voice for the Elizabeth 3rd. Somehow, despite all the odds, this woman brought out a side of Jumin that very few had witnessed ever before.

The day had been full of surprises and emotions. It turned out the future CEO of C&R wasn’t as robotic or cruel as some might have thought. He was capable of strong, albeit icy emotions when stressed over the ones he cared about, but he also could be incredibly warm and loving towards them. Truly, this man was the definition of a big giant teddy bear.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my article I wrote for Jumin Zine. I struggled with it a bit, mainly because it was originally written in a much more casual voice, but I'm happy with the end result. I hope that the rest of you like it too ^^ It was an honor to be a part of that project~


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